United On Fire

Despite the scoreline and the ending of the 12 game winning run at Old Trafford this was a pretty resonable result and display from United.

It was quite a modified side that took the field with Nani and Park on the wings, Jonny Evans and Gary Neville coming back in as captain and right-back.  Park and Nani looked bright and inventive in the opening third of the game, with Nani showing great skill but not quite finding the final ball.  Park was showing his usual enthusiastic play and could, no should, have got two penalties in the first half.  He had his foot stood on which the ref ignored, and then was brought down when the player got non of the ball.  The ref even gave a goalkick so he knew that the Villareal player hadn’t got a touch.

Hargreaves was back from injury and put in a wonderful corner.  Shame it was Rio Ferdinand on the end of it.  The keeper flapped and missed and Rio, showing the preditory instinct of a brontosaurus only managed to connect with his heel and send the ball back across the goal instead of into the net.

Whilst we showed much promise and good play in the first half, we did not kick on in the second and Villareal got back into the game.  With their one true, flowing move they cut open the United team but Guille Franco tried a fancy flick to score and put the shot onto the post.

This woke United up and in response, Christiano Ronaldo made his return to the team, much to the delight of the crowd.   Whilst not completely match fit, he did lift the side and United create two futher great chances to win the match.  Firstly Rooney put in Tevez for a great chance, but it was saved off the line.  Then, Ronaldo crossed and Jonny Evans managed to hit the post with a header.  The game eventually petered out and finished 0-0.

On another day, the ref would have give one of the two penalties and we’d have taken one of the two great chances and the game would have been a 2-1 win.  Fergie must now ponder on what can change his fortune against Chelsea on Sunday.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Liverpool 2 (Brown 27 og, Babel 77) Manchester United 1 (Tevez 2)

Robbie Keane shields the ball from Rio Ferdinand

A combination of good Liverpool pressing and woeful defending meant it was a bad day at the office for Fergie and his United team.

United’s mediocre start to the season continued, and on this showing it won’t start until a certain Portuguese bloke returns to the team.

It didn’t look very bad at after 2 minutes when Dimitar Berbatov’s United career got off to a great start.  Seemingly from nothing, Berbatov was able to get past the Liverpool defence but took the ball too wide for a direct shot.  Instead he pulled the ball back for the oncoming Carlos Tevez who placed the ball expertly into the net.

This shocked Liverpool a bit understandably and it took twenty minutes to get into the match, but when they did, United didn’t have the ability to cope.  Worryingly, it was a mistake in our formidable defence that allowed Liverpool to equalize.  Van der Saar seems to have caught a severe case of the wobbles.  He came for a cross and misjudged the flight of the ball.  He ended up overreaching for it and was only able to palm it away.  Nightmarishly, he palmed it onto the knee of Wes Brown who saw the ball fly back into the net.

United never recovered.  An injury to Carrick saw him and the team limp through to half time, where I had misguided thoughts that we could get back into the game.  However, Liverpool dominated the second half and United didn’t get much of a look in.  About the best chance came to Giggs who had come on for Carrick.  His long range shot was wonderful, but just to central and Reina was able to save it.

The whole United defence was a wobbly and I think that Patrice Evra never recovered properly from a clash of heads in the first half.  He looked dazed and confused immediately afterwards with the referee checking he was alright, and he seemed a bit out of it the whole game.

Liverpool’s winner came from the left, but it was Ryan Giggs at fault not Evra.  He failed to deal with a ball on his own goal line; neither putting it out nor shielding the ball properly.  Mascherano was able to take the ball off him and cross back to Babel who was able to bounce the ball into the net.

United didn’t have time to get an equalizer, but Vidic had time to commit two yellow card offenses and get sent off.  The first could probably have been a straight red as he was more or less the last man.  He’ll now miss the Chelsea game and with our defence in the poor form it is, he’ll be really missed.

Popularity: 21% [?]

It feels like the season is just starting now.  After a draw at home to Newcastle, then an away win against Portsmouth, United’s season stopped.  First there was a “friendly” in Europe and then there was an international break.

So, it starts again away to Liverpool.  Good place to start, even though Gerrard and Torres have been declared fit.  Incredibly we are seeking our 6th straight win over Liverpool which is a remarkable run against one of the Big Four teams.   However, for as long as I can remember, United have done well over Liverpool.  Even when Liverpool were winning title after title, United managed to raise their game.

It is expected that Berbatov will make his debut tomorrow but I wonder who will make way for him.  Carlos Tevez has played well so far for us this season, and returned early from international duty after a red card for Argentina.  Tevez also scored the winning goal at Anfield last season.

Wayne Rooney was excellent against Croatia when England astonishing stuffed them 4-1 (but then he is usually underrated by the media when playing for England. Of course, Ronaldo is still injured so the temptation is to play all three.  But the Champions League starts midweek and I expect some sort of rotation to occur.  With Berbatov having no Champs League experience, he will probably be a sub on Wednesday.

I’m really looking forward to the match.  It feels like the season really starts tomorrow.  Come on United.  Good luck Berbatov in your first match.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Manchester United 4 (Ronaldo 17, Tevez 33, Rooney 53, 70) Aston Villa 0

Manchester United put on a commanding display to destroy Aston Villa. It was capped by a number of great goals and one astonishingly impudent goal from Christiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored one and helped make the other three in an display that will have Chelsea and Arsenal seriously worried about their title prospects despite weekend wins for both teams.

Ronaldo’s goal, on 17 minutes, will live long in the memory of those at Old Trafford to see. A back flick from around the penalty spot that went through a crowd of players and into the net. Not just a back heel into the net from a yard out (Scholes scored one of those a while ago) but from so far out, I doubt any other player could pull it off.

If the first was individual brilliance, the second was a team goal of the highest order. Tevez started the move in the middle of the park, and the ball was played intelligently out to Rooney on the left. With Villa played out of position, Rooney gave the ball to Scholes whose pass out to Ronaldo on the right was so good that Ronaldo didn’t have to break step before playing a perfect first time cross. At the end of the cross was the man who started it all, Carlos Tevez with a simple header to make it 2-0.

The game effectively over, it was a question of how many of the chances United were going to put away. Rooney put the ball just past the post, then Ronaldo’s shot was deflected onto the bar. Eventually United got their third and Rooney scored at Old Trafford twice, both from great passed from Ronaldo.

If United, and Ronaldo and Rooney in particular, can keep up this form, the title will be in the bag.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Lyon 1 (Benzema 54) Manchester United 1 (Tevez 87)

Carlos Tevez rescued United from an away defeat as they take a vital away goal advantage to the 2nd leg. Both teams started with a 4-5-1 formation that canceled each other out. Lyon broke through with a great individual goal from Benzema whilst United leveled once they changed formation to 4-4-2 showing that they had a greater strength in depth.

There was a tough first half as both midfields fought and and battled with few chances for either team. Hargreaves and Anderson allowed Scholes to progress further forward and a beautiful through ball from Giggs put him into the box in a throwback to 10 years ago. Giggs created an even better chance for Rooney who was put through one on one with the keeper, only for Coupet to save well. Meanwhile, United’s back four were pressed but coped with the Lyon attack.

United started the second half strongly with much possession only for Benzema to create a goal. With 4 United players around him, he was able to find the gap and place the ball into net off the post. United were visibly shaken by this and Ferguson showed his squad had the numbers and ability to change games for him. The increasingly tired and ineffective Scholes and Giggs were replaced by Nani and Tevez. Hargreaves was later replaced by Carrick.

The effect was notably as United went to 4-4-2 and Rooney had a companion to play with again and nearly scored as they showed their telepathic understanding one touch to create a chance. Increasingly Lyon were pegged back and they attempted to change the game by removing Juninho for a more defence minded player and Benzema for the Brazilian Fred.

In the end it was the latter substitution that had the most effect, but for the worst. As United pressured late in the game, they won a corner. Initially cleared, the ball then fell to Carrick in the area who fired the ball goalward only for it to hit Fred. It was cleared again, only to Nani on the wing. He flighted a perfect cross into the box but there were no United players on the end of it. However, it bounced again off Fred, this time off his heal and straight into the path of Tevez. Tevez couldn’t miss from three yards out and the game was level.

United take a vital away goal into the home game at Old Trafford and any win or a 0-0 will see them through.

Popularity: 23% [?]